My first snake: Amethystine (or Scrub) Python.
most people recommend that this is not a snake for young or first time keepers, but i couldn't think of a nicer snake!
i have had "Bruce" now for 4 months and in said time he has only struck me twice.
i would be confident in handing Bruce over to a young child (as i did several times at the local footy game)
bruce is vertually bomb proof. he has had swarms of kids reaching at him, being rudely woken up, and countless other things with not a sign of agression.
a word of warning is that they (scrubbies) are australia's largest native python, the largest on record reaching 28 feet!
with the right treatment and attention though, any snake can have the most beautiful temperment.
all it really comes down to is what snake YOU want.
you should get a scrubby though...